Kevin McCarthy elected House speaker following raucous debate proceedings

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.
(Image credit: OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was elected speaker of the House of Representatives just past midnight on Saturday morning, finally garnering enough votes on the 15th ballot following a period of heated and at times physically charged in-fighting within the Republican Party.

The election process, which began this past Tuesday, marked the first time in a century that the majority party was unable to elect a speaker on the first ballot. While McCarthy had previously been seen as a shoo-in for the job, the GOP's underwhelming performance during the midterm elections cast a shadow over his ability to helm his side of the aisle.

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Justin Klawans, The Week US

 Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other Hollywood news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.